refers to Japanese ultranationalist

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as '' netto-uyoku'') often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing groups in Japan with about 100,000 members in total.

Philosophies and activities

are well known for their highly visible propaganda vehicles, known as . The vehicles are usually black, khaki or olive drab, and are decorated with the Imperial Seal, the

flag of Japan The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...

and the Japanese military flag. They are primarily used to stage protests outside organizations such as the Chinese, Korean or Russian embassies,

Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan,
" ''

facilities and media organizations, where propaganda (both taped and live) is broadcast through their loudspeakers. They can sometimes be seen driving around cities or parked in busy shopping areas, broadcasting propaganda, military music or , the national anthem. The

Greater Japan Patriotic Party The , frequently abbreviated to Aikokutō (愛国党, ''Aikokutō''), is a Japanese political party and Uyoku dantai, far-right political group. It was created in 1951 by Right-wing politics, right-wing Ultranationalism, ultranationalist Bin Akao, ...

, supportive of the US–Japan–South Korea alliance against China and North Korea and against communism as a whole, would always have the US national flag flying side by side with the Japanese flag in the vehicles and US military marches played alongside their Japanese counterparts. While political beliefs differ among the groups, they are often said to hold in common three philosophies: the advocation of (retaining the fundamental character of the nation), hostility towards communism and Marxism, and hostility against the

Japan Teachers Union , abbreviated , is Japan's largest and oldest labor union of teachers and school staff. The union is known for its critical stance against the conservative Liberal Democratic Party government on such issues as ''Kimigayo'' (the national anthem) ...

. Traditionally, they view Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), China, and North Korea with hostility over issues such as communism, the

Senkaku Senkaku can refer to: * Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of th ...

(Diaoyu) Islands and the Kuril Islands, and the kidnappings of Japanese citizens by North Korea. Most, but not all, seek to justify Japan's role in the Second World War to varying degrees, deny the war crimes committed by the military during the pre-1945 Shōwa period and are critical of what they see as a "masochistic" bias in post-war historical education. Thus, they do not recognize the legality of the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

or other allied tribunals and consider the war-criminals enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine as . They support the censorship of history textbooks, or historical negationism.

Categories of ''uyoku dantai''

''Uyoku dantai'' are broadly classed into currents based on ideological perspective and foundation period. They are divided into traditional (pre-war), street activist (originating in the post-war era), New Right or ''Minzoku-ha'', and "action conservative" (''Kōdō suru hoshu'') groups. * Traditional or pre-war groups trace their origins to the pre-war radical Right, and have a traditionalist and nationalist outlook. The representatives of this current today are the Great Eastern School (Daitōjuku 大東塾) and Great Japan Production Party (''Dainippon Seisantō'' 大日本生産党) * Activist groups which are mainly known for street activities through noise trucks, sometimes known as ''Gaisen Uyoku'' (街宣右翼). Some (but not all) are believed to have Yakuza links. Ideologically they are ultranationalist, monarchist, militarist, anti-Communist and in favour of a pro-Western alliance. Many also support Taiwan and South Korea. The Great Japan Patriotic Party (''Dainippon Aikokutō'' 大日本愛国党) is one of the most prominent representatives of this current. * New right (''Shin-uyoku'' 新右翼) or ''Minzoku-ha'' (民族派) originated in the student movements of the 60s and 70s, many of whom were followers of Yukio Mishima. They rejected the assumptions of existing ''uyoku'' groups and adopted an anti-American and broadly anti-Western line. The most representative groups of this current is ''Issuikai'' (一水会) and United Volunteers Front. * Action Conservative (''Kōdō suru hoshu'' 行動する保守) groups are more recent in origin and are known for their vocal street activities. These groups tend towards anti-Korean, anti-Chinese and anti-Russian rhetoric. Examples of this trend are Zaitokukai (在特会), Ishin Seito Shimpu (維新政党・新風), Japan National Party (日本国民党),

Japan First Party The is a far-right politics, far-right List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Makoto Sakurai. History On August 15, 2016, Sakurai announced in front of a crowd at the annual gathering to protest the Hantenren in ...

(日本第一党) and ''Shuken kaifuku o mezasu kai'' (主権回復を目指す会).

Groups

Historical groups

* – set up in 1928 by Ainosuke Iwata. (Not to be confused with an 1875–1880 organization of the same name). Activities included organization of anti-communist student movements in various universities and indoctrination of youths in rural villages. On 14 November 1930, Tomeo Sagoya, a member of the society shot Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi at Tokyo Station in an assassination attempt. * – originated from a secret society of former samurai, with an aim to restore feudal rule, was an ultranationalist secret society. They engaged in terrorist activities such as the attempted assassination of Ōkuma Shigenobu in 1889. It formed an extensive espionage and organized crime network throughout East Asia and agitated for Japan's military aggression. Forced to disband after the war. * – an influential paramilitary group set up in 1901, initially to support the effort to drive Russia out of East Asia. They ran anti-Russian espionage networks in Korea,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Manchuria, and Russia. Expanded its activities worldwide in the subsequent decades and became a small but significant ultranationalist force in mainstream politics. Forced to disband in 1946. * – an ultranationalist secret society founded in April 1926. It was formed by the Nazi sympathizer

Motoyuki Takabatake was a Japanese journalist and political activist who completed the first full Japanese translation of Karl Marx's ''Das Kapital''. In his youth he became a member of the small Japanese anarchist movement. During the Russian Revolution however, he ...

along with Nagoya Anarchists Shinkichi Uesugi and later Aikokutō leader

Bin Akao , was a Japanese far-right politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan during World War II. Akao was cofounder and first president of the Kenkokukai and became one of the leading ultranationalists in Japan durin ...

. It proclaimed its object to be "the creation of a genuine people's state based on unanimity between the people and the emperor". * – an ultranationalist secret society established by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930, with the goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état if necessary.

Traditional groups

* – a cultural academy set up in 1939. Runs courses related to Shinto and traditional arts such as (poetry) and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. Conducted several campaigns, such as the restoration of the National Foundation Day's original status of ("Empire Day") and of the legal designation of

Japanese era name The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

s as Japan's official calendar. * – set up in 1951 by, and centred around,

, a former anti-war member of the pre-war

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

who was well known at the time for his daily speeches at Sukiyabashi crossing in

Ginza Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...

, Tokyo. The party advocated state ownership of industries with the Emperor as the chief executive officer of the Japanese government. They emphasized the need for solidarity with the United States and South Korea in the fight against communism. Their propaganda vans were decorated with the Stars and Stripes alongside the Japanese flag, and Akao once stated that Liancourt Rocks () should be blown up as it represents an obstacle to friendship with South Korea. A former party member, Otoya Yamaguchi, was responsible for the 1960 assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, the head of the Japanese Socialist Party, at a televised rally. * – formed in 1972 as part of what was then known as the "new right-wing" movement which rejected the pro-American rhetoric of the traditional right wing. It sees the Japanese government as an American puppet state and demands "complete independence". Advocates the setting up of a new United Nations on the basis that the current UN structure is a relic of the Second World War. Fiercely critical of the Bush Administration over issues such as the Iraq War and the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

Groups affiliated with yakuza syndicates

* – one of the largest organizations with 2000 members. Set up by the

Sumiyoshi-ikka The Sumiyoshi-ikka (住吉一家 "Sumiyoshi Family") is an affiliate of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate, based in Tokyo, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

syndicate in 1961. Since 1978, members have constructed two lighthouses and a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

on the

Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...

(Diaoyutai), a collection of uninhabited islets claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. In June 2000, two members of the society attacked the offices of a magazine which ran a headline which was allegedly disrespectful to then-

Crown Princess Masako is as the consort of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Masako, who was educated at Harvard and Oxford, had a prior career as a diplomat. Early life and education was born on 9 December 1963 at Toranomon H ...

. * – affiliated to the Inagawa-kai syndicate. In 1987, it conducted a bizarre campaign to smear Noboru Takeshita during his quest for the position of Prime Minister, by constantly broadcasting excessive praise of Takeshita using twenty loudspeaker trucks. The broadcasts were stopped after the intervention of Shin Kanemaru. This incident led to a series of political scandals which eventually highlighted the involvement of organized crime in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In April 2004, a bus belonging to the group rammed the gate of the Chinese consulate in Osaka, damaging the gate. Police arrested Nobuyuki Nakagama, the driver, and Ko Chong-Su, a Korean member of the group, for orchestrating the attack. * – a Tokyo-based organization, officially affiliated to the Inagawa-kai syndicate. * – a Tokyo-based organization, officially affiliated to the Kyokuto-kai syndicate. The founder and chief advisor is Shinichi Matsuyama (Cho Kyu-Hwa), a Korean who is also the 5th generation leader of Kyokuto-kai.

Other groups

* – a group based in Nagasaki Prefecture set up in 1981. Responsible for a number of violent incidents, including the 1991 near-fatal shooting of the mayor of Nagasaki who stated that Emperor Hirohito was responsible for the war. * – an extreme nationalist party. The group set fire to

Ichirō Kōno was a postwar Japanese politician and a member of the National Diet. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was the head of the powerful "Konō Faction" within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Konō aspired to become prime minister, but altho ...

's house in 1963. The members were armed with guns and katana, took eight hostages, and barricaded themselves in Japan Business Federation's office in 1977. Its leader Shūsuke Nomura had admired Korean nationalist

An Jung-geun Ahn Jung-geun, sometimes spelled Ahn Joong-keun (; 2 September 1879 – 26 March 1910; baptismal name: Thomas Ahn ), was a Korean-independence activist, nationalist, and pan-Asianist. He is famous for assassination of Itō Hirobumi, the first ...

as a patriot. On the 37th election of assembly members of the House of Representatives (1983), when a secretary of

Shintarō Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranat ...

defamed his opposition candidate Shōkei Arai (Bak Gyeong-jae) as a "Korean", the party protested hard against Ishihara. * – a small

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

party headed by Kazunari Yamada, who maintains a website and blog which includes praise for Adolf Hitler and the September 11 attacks. Pictures of Yamada, a Holocaust denier, posing with Cabinet minister

Sanae Takaichi is a Japanese politician who has served as the Minister of State for Economic Security since August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she has served in the House of Representatives since 2005, and had also served in several minist ...

and LDP policy research chief

Tomomi Inada is a Japanese lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, representing the 1st Fukui Prefecture since September 2005. She previously served as the 14th Japanese Minister of Defense from August 2016 to Jul ...

were discovered on the website and became a source of controversy; both have denied support for the party. * – a Japanese nationalist and conservative group who seeks the revision of the Japanese constitution and the revision of Japanese history textbooks to whitewash Japan's actions during World War II.Right side up
6 June 2015, '' The Economist'' * – a Japanese nationalist and anti-immigration group who calls for the removal of state welfare and alleged privileges to Zainichi Koreans. They are

anti-Korean Anti-Korean sentiment involves hatred or dislike that is directed towards Korean people, culture or either of the two states (North Korea or South Korea) on the Korean Peninsula. Origins Anti-Korean sentiment is present in China, Japan, an ...

, anti-Russian and

anti-Chinese Anti-Chinese sentiment, also known as Sinophobia, is a fear or dislike of China, Chinese people or Chinese culture. It often targets Chinese minorities living outside of China and involves immigration, development of national identity in ...

. It has been described by the National Police Agency as a potential threat to public order due to its "extreme nationalist and xenophobic" ideology. * – an

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

party founded by the original leader of Zaitokukai

Makoto Sakurai is the pen name of a political activist, blogger, and writer from Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. A former civil servant in a ward office, he is the founder and former leader of the far-right nationalist group Zaitokukai, known for ...

Gallery

File:Uyoku Yasukuni 215882903 ccd45c4a55 o.jpg, An passing two Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department riot buses. File:Uyoku Yasukuni 215882905 d95d399f26 o.jpg, A driving around the street at the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, the V-J Day. File:Uyoku Yasukuni 215882907 490e6e058f o.jpg, Another example of an , again in front of the Yasukuni Shrine. File:YasukuniJinsha-Uyoku 1991.jpg, bus parked on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine.

References

External links

Media Intimidation in Japan
��article by David McNeill

��article by Eric Prideaux
Uyoku: The Japanese Right Wing
��article by Mai Wakisaka

��article by Daiki Shibuichi {{DEFAULTSORT:Uyoku Dantai Anti-communist organizations Empire of Japan Far-right politics in Japan Identity politics in Japan Japanese militarism Japanese nationalism Japanese words and phrases Political organizations based in Japan Postwar Japan Right-wing populism in Japan